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Published in the Northwest Indiana Times on Sunday, October 17, 2004

'This is my job'
BY ANDREA JAMES
and BAHAR TAKHTEHCHIAN
Medill News Service

CHICAGO -- Like many, the first thing that Lester Mills of Chicago thinks about when he wakes up in the morning is making a fast buck. But unlike business people on Wall Street, Mills, 44, props himself in front of fancy stores along Michigan Avenue and sits for hours. He grins incessantly and claims that while life on the real street has its ups and downs, he is "content."

"This is my job," he says, laughing while jiggling sixty-four cents in a McDonald's soda cup. "I get up every day and I ask people for money and they give."

Mills is something of a nomad. Not having consistently lived under a roof for the past seven years, he travels alone from city to city. Mills has family, but he does not keep in touch with them because they are the only people that can potentially "poke at his heart."

He enjoys his freedom and the opportunity to sight-see and travel. Mills is so carefree that he doesn't even keep track of time.

When asked what month it was he answered, "It's October. No. It's September. No -- August."

"Once you live in the streets, you become addicted to the freedom and the liberation that comes with the lifestyle," he says, while picking at his dirty sock.

Mills uses the money he collects to buy one meal a day and the rest he saves or uses to buy alcohol. His favorite is Canadian Club Reserve whiskey.

"I can't lie. Sometimes I gotta have my liquor," he says.

He smiles at shoppers passing by and waves at little kids walking with their parents. Some stop to make a donation.

"Thank you, sir. You have a big heart," Mills responds. "God bless you."

A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Mills stopped working after a bullet wounded his left leg and disabled him. Now, his only steady source of income is a monthly $180 government stipend.

Mills spends most of the summer in Chicago, sleeping in isolated parks and open spaces on a cardboard box with a quilt to keep him warm. When he needs to bathe, he jumps into Lake Michigan with a bar of soap in hand.

"You get a little cold," he admits. "But, you get used to it."

During the winter months, Mills saves up enough money to buy train tickets to warmer climates like Los Angeles or Phoenix. His most exciting experience with a stranger took place in Miami. A man casually "slipped a hundred dollar bill" into his cup. Overjoyed by the man's good will, Mills spent the money on two nights in a hotel.

"I bought me a liter of Coke, a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey and a bucket of chicken from KFC," he said.

While Mills exudes a positive, relaxed demeanor, his otherwise consistent grin slowly diminishes when he recalls his late teen years and his relationship with his mother. His biggest regret in life is not working hard enough to convince his mother to let him live under her roof.

"I should have done my chores when my mom asked me to," he said. "I didn't listen and she kicked me out."

Without his mother's support, Mills said he could not continue his education at a local junior college. He still wonders about what it would have been like to work for a company like DuPont. But, Mills has faith in God and is convinced that he'll be OK.

"Life's a learning experience," he says. "Everyone has their problems and everyone has got to go through their phases. You gotta keep falling down until you learn."